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Kristoph Gavin knew he was a morally detestable man, but he didn't care. He was commited, he was proud, he was intelligent. It simply meant he would use any method to get what he wanted, he wasn't held back by made up concepts like morals.
He naturally had low empathy but he had spent his childhood years trying to make up for it. Looking back, it had been pathetic. Him trying to force himself to have this emotion like how it was for the masses. He didn’t know this then of course, but the masses weren’t good people themselves, often people with empathy were unintelligent hypocrites, a bunch of mouth-breathers. They wore a mask around other people, a mask of support and solidarity, but as soon as the person they were empathising with started to act unusually, the mask came off.
When he was younger he observed that empathy was only given to those who were like them. If you didn’t act ‘normal’, no one spared any of it to you. If you weren’t one to show your emotions, people assumed you had none. Even if you thought of them as friends and trusted them. No matter what he had told people, how much he tried to comfort them when they were upset and show his affection, it was for naught. And whenever he said what he was actually thinking, the kids said he was evil. Friendship as a concept didn’t have a place in it for him, so naturally, he learnt to stay away. He focused on his studies instead of forming worthless connections. Of course, he was young and felt juvenile emotions such as loneliness. But that was all in the past.
As he grew older, he realised he was above this ‘normalcy’. Normal people made mindless mistakes because of what they felt for other people. That feeling was important, yes, but only for those peasants so they were obedient and dependent on each other. Successful people didn’t have these feelings. Since the beginning of time, success was gained by climbing on top of people who were kneeling or dying. Kristoph having little of it was not a flaw but an advantage, it meant he was to go places those people could not. He was glad to have low empathy.
Low empathy didn’t mean non-existent empathy, however. He found that out when a ten-year-old Klavier came back from school crying. This was unlike him you see, Klavier was a very happy kid, he was friends with all of his classmates and liked by all his teachers despite his occasional mischief. He remembered that day clearly, the way the child clung to him as soon as he opened the door, sobbing. It had been difficult to get him to release him, only being satisfied when Kristoph said he’d hold his hand instead. He had led them to the sofa, and once they sat down Klavier told him about what had happened at school that day. Apparently, during physical education class, he had thrown a basketball with so much excitement he broke Daryan’s nose, and he felt incredibly bad about it. Kristoph never understood why this affected his brother so badly when it was clearly an accident, but he felt a twinge of pain in his chest for the boy. This emotion was unexpected, and one he didn’t understand. But it felt so natural then, like this was what it meant to be an older brother. He pulled his brother into a hug, the child was so delicate in his arms. He remembered giving him the most gentle smile he could muster and telling him they could bake cookies for Daryan together as an apology.
They had baked cookies that day afterwards, it was going perfectly until Klavier decided to throw a handful of flour at him. Kristoph would not dare to stand there and take such an assault against his favourite garments, so he took his revenge by taking a handful of flour himself and pouring it onto his brother’s hair. Thankfully the servants had cleaned it all up before their parents arrived, and the siblings each took baths. The cookies were delicious in the end, and the flour came off his clothing, so it was a success, albeit a peculiar one.
He knew Klavier never thought of him as evil, even when he said things that would be considered off-putting to most people. Rose-coloured glasses, his younger brother had always admired him. Probably until recently anyway.
“Gavin, you have a visitor!”
He snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the guard’s voice. Despite how many books he had, he often found himself buried deep in his thoughts in his confinement. He looked up to see who had come. Oh, speak of the devil.
“Hallo, mein bruder. You look pretty good considering everything.”
Kristoph assumed that smile was supposed to be easy-going. But he knew Klavier well, it was clearly forced. He found that annoying considering his brother came to visit of his own volition. If he was uncomfortable he could leave.
“Thank you, I try to take care of myself despite the circumstances. What do I owe the visit, did you miss me perhaps?”
Thankfully his brother was smart enough to drop that fake smile. An intelligence he refused to show while Kristoph was getting accused, but he digressed.
“I do miss you Kristoph, I’m grieving you y’know.”
“There is nothing to grieve, I am still alive.”
Klavier looked away, towards his violin Kristoph noticed “I’m grieving the person you used to be, and the one that I know is still there deep inside.”
He couldn’t help but frown at that, what did that even mean? If what his brother thought about him didn’t match reality, it wasn’t his fault. “Who do you suppose that person is?”
“A person who tried his best, a person who still had respect for human life despite his ambitions and difficulties. A person who would be horrid when you even insinuated he might be cheating because he was so proud of his hard work. You.”
Kristoph scoffed, “Those were juvenile beliefs. Even if you give your life to your work, if the end result isn’t perfect it means nothing. I learnt that the hard way, and eventually you will learn it as well. Sometimes cheating is necessary.”
Klavier took a deep breath. His eyes darted around left and right, why was he forcing both of them to have a conversation they clearly did not want to have? Still, he continued on, much to Kristoph’s displeasure. “Das bezweifle ich. Please address the most important part, human life. You attempted to take three lives Kristoph, how could you? Why did you?”
The how was easy, atroquinine. He never felt guilty for what he had done, he still doesn’t. The why? Thinking about it made his head hurt. It hurt his head every time he questioned it himself.
“I will give you the explanation I gave Mr. Wright, the only explanation I know: I’m an evil human being Klavier.”
The momentary anger that flashed on his younger brother’s face as he uttered those words was the most intense he had ever seen him react to anything. Then his eyes widened, they were fidgeting around Kristoph like he was looking at things his brother couldn't see. Kristoph didn't understand.
“Nein, you are not! That doesn’t explain shit Kristoph! You were my hero as a child, I spent all my life looking up to you, wanting to be just like you. Even look like you, look at my fucking hair. You were always so calm and cool, I had never seen you lose your temper once before the trial. Give me some closure. Please bruder.”
His brother’s eyes were starting to tear up, his face red. Pitiful.
“I don’t know, perhaps a cross-examination is in order. You have been watching me in court since I started my career, you should be able to do this.”
Klavier forced a chuckle, “How am I supposed to cross-examine you if you don’t even give me a testimony?”
Testimony. Yes, he could give one. Tell his brother everything that went on and let him come to his own conclusions.
“Alright, but listen carefully. I will not repeat myself. As you know, Shadi Enigmar was supposed to be a client of mine. I knew how important the Gramarye name was and how much it could do for my career. That is why I went to the Mishams to forge that page, I wanted my win to be certain, the case to be perfect. I owed a lot of money to get that thing, that is why when I lost such an important client over a poker game I got furious.”
His brother sighed, “But you are already known as one of the best defense attorneys in the country. And we are both rich, there was no reason to kill over such a thing. Did you feel humiliated?”
Yes, that must be it. All he felt at that time was fury, but that must have been buried under it. His head started to feel foggy, but it didn't hurt yet. They must be on the right track.
“You are right, I felt humiliated. Shall I continue?”
Klavier shook his head “Not yet, you didn’t mention the atroquinine yet either. When did you set that trap for the Mishams? That was when you tried to murder for the first time, we can’t skip that.”
“I went to see the Mishams before I came to your office.”
“That’s a different timeline than we believed. You must have learnt that Herr Wright won the poker game you lost that morning. You probably had an extra nail polish bottle in your house, when did you get the poison and the stamp? Did you have those prepared already, if so... Did you kill other forgers too before this?”
Kristoph rolled his eyes, “No Klavier, I had never committed murder before that date. But I did have the poison in hand, I have many types of poison in my office.”
“Why?”
He couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing that, “I’m not sure, perhaps I knew I was capable of murder. I bought the stamp after I lost the game and sent the letter that morning, after I learnt about Mr. Wright replacing me.”
“The letter was payment, right? You also said you wanted to get a receipt with the poisonous stamp you sent. But you were planning to go to the Mishams that evening already, wouldn’t that seem suspicious? Wouldn’t they question why you didn’t give the money by hand? Less evidence.”
“Occam’s Razor Klavier. I told Drew Misham I saw something Vera might like while shopping. To them, my visit was unplanned. Then I came to your office and informed you about the forgery.”
“What was the thought process here? Did you already have the forged page in hand? What would have happened if he sent that stamp before he went to court? He wouldn’t be able to testify, the whole case would have gotten a lot messier. I can’t help but think all of the poisoning happened before the poker game.”
Kristoph sighed, “That would be a non-issue. I had done the transaction anonymously, worn gloves, and the only people who saw me would be dead one right after another. Drew Misham because he touched the stamp and Vera Misham because she would be nervous at the police custody. In fact, it would have been the ideal outcome.”
“How can you say that? How can you say murdering a nine-year-old would be the ideal outcome?” Klavier looked hurt again, how bothersome. He already knew Kristoph intended to murder Vera as a child after all, this wasn’t new information.
“I told you I’m evil, you didn’t believe me. You can only blame yourself.”
“Not that again… Look, Kristoph, I already knew you don’t feel a lot of empathy. But that has been the case since we were little, you didn’t hurt anyone until now. I just want to know what made you snap this time. I get that you felt humiliated and angry, but those aren’t unusual emotions.”
Kristoph gave his usual gentle, or perhaps condescending in this case, smile “Aren’t you supposed to pry that information out yourself? You don’t seem like you are getting anywhere with that.”
“I’m trying to understand what happened first.”
“Well, do you understand yet?”
Klavier glared at him. The same glare he used to give him as a child, how nostalgic. He then covered his face with his hands, “You are impossible, why am I even trying?” he mumbled.
“I’m not sure what you expect of me brother.”
His younger brother pulled something out of his pocket. A magatama, if he was remembering correctly. A prehistoric bead from Japan with religious significance. Something he couldn’t picture Klavier caring about.
“This here,” Klavier said “It’s a crazy little thing. Herr Wright lent it to me after I asked him what your motive was. During the seven-year period, you two were very close and he had been investigating for a long time, so I thought he might know. He said he didn’t, but told me I should take this with me while visiting you.”
Kristoph leaned down to inspect what his brother was holding. It was green in colour and glowing, a peculiar looking thing. Then he looked up, raising an eyebrow “Your point being?”
“He told me when you have it with you, you can see mental locks. Usually, these locks are red and can be unlocked if you say the right things. But yours aren’t, yours are black. Herr Wright said black locks mean a secret the person subconsciously keeps, and forcefully breaking them can cause deep psychological damage. I’m here to unlock them with you together.”
Kristoph laughed “You speak of gibberish, my foolish Klavier. Do you really trust what Phoenix Wright has to say about me? You know that man hides his lack of intellectual skills behind ridiculous bluffs, right? The only thing he has is luck.”
Klavier looked at him for a moment, then smirked “He also told me you slept with him, many times in fact. Why do something like that if he’s lesser than you?”
“Well… To keep him attached to me of course. However, this is irrelevant to my testimony. May I continue?”
Klavier sighed “This isn’t a real court proceeding, though. I can continue since I unknowingly contributed to your plan here. You came to me and told me Herr Wright had forged evidence. I trusted your word, but I was wondering how you learnt this information, especially so quickly after Wright was announced to be the attorney. He would have to prepare last minute, and getting something forged must take time. But I admired you, so I didn’t question you. I assumed the forger was speedy, perhaps the page was sloppily done. I thought maybe Wright panicked getting the case last minute so he had it done to ensure his win but I had a bad feeling in my chest. Then I revealed it was a forgery at court, even summoning Drew Misham. Afterwards, Herr Wright lost his attorney’s badge. And Shadi Enigmar disappeared without getting his verdict.”
“Perfect, Klavier.” Kristoph smiled “Shadi Enigmar disappearing was a nightmare scenario. It turned this shorter-term plan into an incredibly long term plan. But I accepted that and continued on. I voted against the decision to disbar Mr. Wright and befriended him afterwards. This was done with the hope he would trust me, therefore would not suspect me. But I felt uncomfortable knowing the people involved in the crime were alive and could reveal the truth at any moment. Especially Shadi Enigmar and the Mishams. And of course Spark Brushel. So I spent a lot of money getting people to spy on all of them all while I would personally watch Mr. Wright myself.”
“You probably weren’t even aware of it at the time, but I know you Kristoph. You must have been terrified. You are a perfectionist, and everything had gone horribly wrong. The Mishams were alive, Shadi Enigmar wasn’t behind bars. Those were the three most important people who had to be out of the picture. Then even if Herr Wright accused you, no one would listen thinking he’s a fraud. So you had to be aware of where all of them were at all times.”
“I don’t think I was scared, I was being careful.” He wasn’t sure he believed what he was saying “Skipping forward to the incident at Borscht Bowl Club… I knew Mr. Enigmar was coming. The people I sent after him informed me of his interactions with Ms. Orly. That is why I told Mr. Wright I was available that day. I saw my chance at eliminating both Mr. Enigmar and hopefully Mr. Wright, so I hid in the secret tunnel. Once I saw an opening with no witnesses, I switched the bottles and striked. I took the Ace card with me and replaced it with the card from the other deck.”
Klavier closed his eyes for a brief moment, then opened them again. He took a deep breath before speaking again, “You must have been in a rush. So the murder was planned ahead, since you knew he was coming. What did you feel when you swung that bottle? I could imagine you poisoning someone, but physically hitting them is different. It’s violent.”
“How did I feel?”
Kristoph hadn’t focused on that as he recalled what he had done. He really didn’t want to talk about it, but this was Klavier. As useless as he was, he told him he would try to give him closure. He tried to picture himself in that place again, the bottle in hand.
He nodded and continued “I think I felt uneasy as I was shaking. But I was also excited to finally get rid of the man who had humiliated me. With anger, I grabbed the bottle and hit him over the head. I must have spent a minute looking down upon the dead man, feeling an intense rush of power. After I left the club, that feeling turned into apathy.”
“So you uh… Enjoyed killing him then?” Klavier looked disappointed. And Kristoph was starting to lose his patience, he wasn’t sure what his brother wanted out of the conversation and it seemed like he would be disappointed no matter what. Unless he told him some evil spirit possessed him or something since he was so into religious mumbo jumbo apparently. He should have known this would be a waste of time.
“What the fuck did you expect when you asked that Klavier?! Did you expect me to have innocent blood on my hands with no guilt and be a good person? I understand that you want closure, I do. I’m trying to give you some. I’m talking about my emotions, which you know I don't ever do. But you must take off the rose-coloured glasses and see my true colours. Not what you want me to be like.”
Oh. His brother looked scared. He did mention the trial was the first time he saw Kristoph lose his temper, this must be the second then. Unpleasant memories.
“I appreciate you talking about your emotions… Sorry. Please uh, continue.”
“After I left the scene, Mr. Wright called and requested my services. But he was more interested in having Mr. Justice as his defense attorney. I felt… Nervous, upon hearing that. But I had no right to refuse. I assumed Mr. Justice was too inexperienced and naive to suspect me anyhow. I would guide him, we would either get Ms. Orly or Mr. Wright convicted. But Mr. Wright manipulated my apprentice.”
“You speak as if you were innocent.”
“I was not, but that is beside the point. I lost my only apprentice to Mr. Wright.”
Klavier chuckled “Did that make you sad? Did you care about Herr Forehead?”
“Oh absolutely not, excuse you.”
Klavier was still laughing, what was so funny about that? Kristoph rolled his eyes.
“In the end, the card Mr. Wright produced was a forged one. So he wasn’t above forgery himself. That is all I will tell you.”
Klavier took a deep breath, “I think you were humiliated and very angry when you lost that poker game but when you bought that stamp you weren’t intending to murder the Mishams yet, that’s why you chose a Gramarye one, one Vera would like. I can’t imagine you choosing that specific stamp if you were planning to kill, I know you better than anyone. But when you heard Phoenix Wright was your replacement, you started planning. In the trial of Vera Misham, hearing Herr Wright’s was what name made you snap. So I think he is heavily related to that decision.”
Kristoph raised an eyebrow again, that was an interesting deduction. It wasn’t… Untrue.
“Why would I care so much about that man?”
His now less-useless brother answered “I found it interesting that whenever you were asked about a motive you said you were evil. When I seemed upset at you enjoying the murder, you lost your temper because I thought better of you. Kristoph, I think you actually believe you are an evil human being. When did you start thinking that about yourself?”
Kristoph pushed his spectacles up. He was intrigued by this line of questioning. “Hm. Not necessarily evil, but I accepted I couldn’t be a good person in middle school.”
“Bruder, that's very young. Why?”
Why did Klavier look worried?
“Low-empathy. I’ve been called cruel by my peers since elementary school. Because I don’t react the same way everyone else does.”
“Oh, Kristoph…” Klavier’s sighed “I’m so sorry.”
“It is fine. I do not care, I never had the intention of being seen as good.”
“Of course you did, you were a kid. You wanted to be liked, you wanted to be good. But you started to think you were not. You probably felt so alone, like you were lesser than the other kids.” his brother sounded like he was in physical pain. Why such an extreme reaction?
“Don’t be ridiculous-”
“Then this happened. You convinced yourself it didn’t matter, you were better than them anyway, their reactions were dumb. Friendships were a waste of time. I’ve been with you since we were little, I know you never had any friends. I remember finding it sad as a kid too. But now it all makes sense to me, everything you ever did makes sense to me. And I’m so sorry, I wish I could pull you close and hug you like you used to do when I was little.”
There was a lump in Kristoph’s throat. Why?
Why?
“Y-you’re mistaken. Anyway, you didn’t answer my question… Why would I care so much about that man?” he managed to force out.
“You knew Herr Wright was known as a very good man and liked by everyone. I think you envied him, you thought he was better than you instead of less like you claim. Maybe you even found him attractive, considering what happened later. You wanted to destroy him, make him known as a fraud, a bad person, like you believe yourself to be.
With that rage, you snapped and sent the letter to Drew Misham. I think you only realised what you had done when you calmed down, but you couldn’t stop now. I know you never quit once you commit to something. You quickly thought of adding the same poison to one of your nail polishes, so you did. Then you carefully wiped the bottle. I think you must have been very scared. But people don’t call you the Coolest Defense Attorney in The West for nothing, you sucked it up and went to the Mishams. You convinced Vera the nail polish was magical. You were probably desperately hoping it would be over soon, but it wasn’t. Your fear was prolonged by seven years.”
Kristoph couldn’t say a word. He wanted to, he wanted to deny it. But nothing came out of his mouth. He was shaking. Why? Why? Why?!
This was clearly wrong! Of course it was wrong, Klavier was always wrong!
His brother continued, a soft look on his face. “You really admired Herr Wright. I think that’s why you wanted to get close to him after Herr Gramarye escaped, you could have easily hired spies. I don’t think anyone would suspect you as much as you convinced yourself they would. Herr Wright was broken and you wanted to collect the pieces. He would be grateful to you for not voting for him, he would think you are a very good person. He would be your first friend. You wouldn’t be alone anymore. I wish I had realised it then Kristoph, I didn’t know you were suffering so much…”
He was shaking. His cheeks felt hot. He touched them. Wet. He must be crying. Pitiful.
“You had always found him attractive, and he found you attractive too. That’s why you guys started sleeping together. But I think eventually… You fell in love with Phoenix Wright. Though that's my guess anyway, I’m not a therapist.”
So that was it. Klavier was done. Kristoph had started sobbing during the middle of that. He held himself tightly, trying to calm himself down. His brother was wrong. He was wrong! Wrong! Why was his body reacting like this?
His head hurt. His chest hurt. Breathing had become difficult due to how frequently he was sobbing. Tears were rolling down from his cheeks, then reaching his jaw and dripping down onto his shirt. When was the last time this happened? His early teens he imagined. When did he become so disconnected from his emotions? Was it around then too? When he decided he was above everyone else?
He hadn't noticed his eyes were closed, but now he opened them. He saw how panicked Klavier was, desperately trying to push his arm through the bars to touch him, to comfort him. Despite how idiotic that was. But he felt... Happy that his brother cared so much. He put his hand against the cold iron bars, Klavier did the same. For the first time in months, they touched each other as their palms did. Kristoph wanted his brother to hug him. He did. But this was enough to calm him down, make his sobs less frequent, his shaking less intense.
He smiled, “You… Really do know me better than anyone Klavier. Including myself. Thank you.”
Despite how tight his throat felt, it was the most calm he had ever heard his own voice. He felt lighter, like he had been carrying the weight of the entire world on his back before.
“The locks really got unlocked! And I pried out the answer to why you did what you did myself. Was I able to finally make you proud?” Klavier was smiling, his eyes sparkling. He had gotten his closure.
“Yes, you were,” he said in between sobs “The proudest.”